Computing Nearly Singular Solutions Using Pseudo-Spectral Methods

In this paper, we investigate the performance of pseudo-spectral methods in computing nearly singular solutions of fluid dynamics equations. We consider two different ways of removing the aliasing errors in a pseudo-spectral method. The first one is the traditional 2/3 dealiasing rule. The second one is a high (36th) order Fourier smoothing which keeps a significant portion of the Fourier modes beyond the 2/3 cut-off point in the Fourier spectrum for the 2/3 dealiasing method. Both the 1D Burgers equation and the 3D incompressible Euler equations are considered. We demonstrate that the pseudo-spectral method with the high order Fourier smoothing gives a much better performance than the pseudo-spectral method with the 2/3 dealiasing rule. Moreover, we show that the high order Fourier smoothing method captures about $12 \sim 15$ more effective Fourier modes in each dimension than the 2/3 dealiasing method. For the 3D Euler equations, the gain in the effective Fourier codes for the high order Fourier smoothing method can be as large as 20% over the 2/3 dealiasing method. Another interesting observation is that the error produced by the high order Fourier smoothing method is highly localized near the region where the solution is most singular, while the 2/3 dealiasing method tends to produce oscillations in the entire domain. The high order Fourier smoothing method is also found be very stable dynamically. No high frequency instability has been observed.Comment: 26 pages, 23 figure

On Finite Time Singularity and Global Regularity of an Axisymmetric Model for the 3D Euler Equations

We investigate the large time behavior of an axisymmetric model for the 3D Euler equations. In \cite{HL09}, Hou and Lei proposed a 3D model for the axisymmetric incompressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations with swirl. This model shares many properties of the 3D incompressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations. The main difference between the 3D model of Hou and Lei and the reformulated 3D Euler and Navier-Stokes equations is that the convection term is neglected in the 3D model. In \cite{HSW09}, the authors proved that the 3D inviscid model can develop a finite time singularity starting from smooth initial data on a rectangular domain. A global well-posedness result was also proved for a class of smooth initial data under some smallness condition. The analysis in \cite{HSW09} does not apply to the case when the domain is axisymmetric and unbounded in the radial direction. In this paper, we prove that the 3D inviscid model with an appropriate Neumann-Robin boundary condition will develop a finite time singularity starting from smooth initial data in an axisymmetric domain. Moreover, we prove that the 3D inviscid model has globally smooth solutions for a class of large smooth initial data with some appropriate boundary condition.Comment: Please read the published versio

Symmetric factorization of the conformation tensor in viscoelastic fluid models

The positive definite symmetric polymer conformation tensor possesses a unique symmetric square root that satisfies a closed evolution equation in the Oldroyd-B and FENE-P models of viscoelastic fluid flow. When expressed in terms of the velocity field and the symmetric square root of the conformation tensor, these models' equations of motion formally constitute an evolution in a Hilbert space with a total energy functional that defines a norm. Moreover, this formulation is easily implemented in direct numerical simulations resulting in significant practical advantages in terms of both accuracy and stability.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Conditional vorticity budget of coherent and incoherent flow contributions in fully developed homogeneous isotropic turbulence

We investigate the conditional vorticity budget of fully developed three-dimensional homogeneous isotropic turbulence with respect to coherent and incoherent flow contributions. The Coherent Vorticity Extraction based on orthogonal wavelets allows to decompose the vorticity field into coherent and incoherent contributions, of which the latter are noise-like. The impact of the vortex structures observed in fully developed turbulence on statistical balance equations is quantified considering the conditional vorticity budget. The connection between the basic structures present in the flow and their statistical implications is thereby assessed. The results are compared to those obtained for large- and small-scale contributions using a Fourier decomposition, which reveals pronounced differences

Persistent accelerations disentangle Lagrangian turbulence

Particles in turbulence frequently encounter extreme accelerations between extended periods of quiescence. The occurrence of extreme events is closely related to the intermittent spatial distribution of intense flow structures such as vorticity filaments. This mixed history of flow conditions leads to very complex particle statistics with a pronounced scale dependence, which presents one of the major challenges on the way to a non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of turbulence. Here, we introduce the notion of persistent Lagrangian acceleration, quantified by the squared particle acceleration coarse-grained over a viscous time scale. Conditioning Lagrangian particle data from simulations on this coarse-grained acceleration, we find remarkably simple, close-to-Gaussian statistics for a range of Reynolds numbers. This opens the possibility to decompose the complex particle statistics into much simpler sub-ensembles. Based on this observation, we develop a comprehensive theoretical framework for Lagrangian single-particle statistics that captures the acceleration, velocity increments as well as single-particle dispersion

Relative-Periodic Elastic Collisions of Water Waves

We compute time-periodic and relative-periodic solutions of the free-surface Euler equations that take the form of overtaking collisions of unidirectional solitary waves of different amplitude on a periodic domain. As a starting guess, we superpose two Stokes waves offset by half the spatial period. Using an overdetermined shooting method, the background radiation generated by collisions of the Stokes waves is tuned to be identical before and after each collision. In some cases, the radiation is effectively eliminated in this procedure, yielding smooth soliton-like solutions that interact elastically forever. We find examples in which the larger wave subsumes the smaller wave each time they collide, and others in which the trailing wave bumps into the leading wave, transferring energy without fully merging. Similarities notwithstanding, these solutions are found quantitatively to lie outside of the Korteweg-de Vries regime. We conclude that quasi-periodic elastic collisions are not unique to integrable model water wave equations when the domain is periodic.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure

Geometrical shock dynamics for magnetohydrodynamic fast shocks

We describe a formulation of two-dimensional geometrical shock dynamics (GSD) suitable for ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fast shocks under magnetic fields of general strength and orientation. The resulting area–Mach-number–shock-angle relation is then incorporated into a numerical method using pseudospectral differentiation. The MHD-GSD model is verified by comparison with results from nonlinear finite-volume solution of the complete ideal MHD equations applied to a shock implosion flow in the presence of an oblique and spatially varying magnetic field ahead of the shock. Results from application of the MHD-GSD equations to the stability of fast MHD shocks in two dimensions are presented. It is shown that the time to formation of triple points for both perturbed MHD and gas-dynamic shocks increases as ϵ^(-1), where ϵ is a measure of the initial Mach-number perturbation. Symmetry breaking in the MHD case is demonstrated. In cylindrical converging geometry, in the presence of an azimuthal field produced by a line current, the MHD shock behaves in the mean as in Pullin et al. (Phys. Fluids, vol. 26, 2014, 097103), but suffers a greater relative pressure fluctuation along the shock than the gas-dynamic shock